The present invention relates generally to receptacles, containers and the like, and, more particularly, to containers for safely handling potentially injurious or contaminated implements such as used scalpel blades, hypodermic needles and like devices which pose a risk of causing infection or even disease if an open wound is created by or exposed to such implement.
With the advent of disposable surgical tools, hypodermic needles, scalpel blades and other sharp implements, a need has developed for a receptacle to store such devices after use without risk of exposing people to injury, infection or disease by improper handling, until proper disposal can be made. In fact, the very recent outbreak of the highly contagious AIDS disease has dramatically highlighted the need for a safe way of handling the storage and disposal of such implements.
In the case of disposable hypodermic needles, it is common practice to break or cut the needles prior to discarding in order to reduce the size of the needle/syringe as well as eliminate the sharp point from the needle for reducing the risk of injury from improper handling. Usually, a special tool is used to cut off the needle points and store them in an attached container. In breaking or cutting the needles, however, there is a risk of accidental puncture during the breaking or cutting operation, thus exposing the holder to possible injury and, further, to possible infection or disease. In addition, any residual medication in the needle is susceptable to splattering onto the person or his clothes and there is a danger that potentially harmful fumes could be inhaled. Furthermore, inasmuch as the blades of the cutting tool are seldom, if ever, changed, they become a breeding ground for germs, bacteria and other disease-causing micro-organisms to which the unsuspecting cutter is unnecessarily exposed.
Several proposals have been advanced for avoiding the foregoing dangers. However, although these proposals may eliminate some of the risks involved in the handling and storage of hypodermic needles and the like, they generally do not overcome all of the dangers and often are the source of other problems. For example, at least one manufacturer suggests using the empty shipping containers used for shipping its fresh disposable needles to store and dispose of the needles after use. Although these containers can hold spent needles, they do not provide any margin of safety against the risk of injury from the fully exposed needles because these containers are only intended to safely hold new needles which are already contained in blister-style packaging that inherently protects against injury by the sharp needle points. In addition, because the shipping containers must be large enough to hold new needles and their protective packaging, these containers are larger than needed for storing the used needles and, as a result, are too bulky to fit conveniently on, for example, service carts used in hospitals and like institutions where the concern for storage and disposal of needles is the greatest. Also, since the needles are simply dropped into the box, the sharp needle points become oriented haphazardly in all directions so as to increase the risk of injuring a person and hinder efficient or compact packing of the implements.
A few specially designed containers have been proposed for handling used needles. Known presently available containers include the "SAN-I-PAK" sold by Med-Safe Systems, Inc. of Leucadia, Calif., a cylindrical container sold by Sage Products of Cary, Ill., a cardboard box sold under the designation "HYPO-HOPPER" sold by the Porex Medical Division of Glasrock Medical Services of Fairburn, Ga. and another cardboard box sold as catalog number 5684 by Becton-Dickenson of Rutherford, N.J.
Although the specially designed devices provide adequate results under certain circumstances, they do suffer certain disadvantages. For example, the Med-Safe and Sage devices, being are molded from plastic, can be relatively expensive. Similarly, the Porex device, although made of corrugated paper, has a relatively complicated baffle/lock mechanism which can add to the cost of fabrication and assembly. In addition, both cardboard devices generally have single layer side walls and directly abutting double walled bottoms which do not provide any added margin of safety against possible punctures especially if the bottom becomes wet. Furthermore, in all the containers, either the entire syringe/needle or the syringe with a part of the needle is simply dropped into the containers, thus creating a haphazard distribution of needles in the container which can result in an inefficiently filled container and possible injury to a user.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved container for storage and/or disposal of hypodermic needles, scalpels and other sharp or pointed implements which pose a danger of injury or puncture (hereinafter referred to simply as "potentially injurious implements"). It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved container structure for storing potentially injurious implements, which can be fabricated relatively inexpensively yet is sturdy and resistant to puncture by the implements retained therein.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved container structure for storing potentially injurious implements, which can be fabricated from a single sheet of relatively inexpensive material such as corrugated paper, cardboard, stiffened paper and the like. It is a further object of the invention to provide such a container structure which can be shipped and stored in a substantially flat unassembled configuration, yet can be assembled with relative ease and without requiring any bonding or fastening means to complete assembly.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a new and improved container for potentially injurious implements, which is adapted to receive all the implements in a compact side-by-side horizontal configuration for maximum storage capacity. It is also an object of the invention to provide such a container which further includes a biased door adapted to prevent any implements from falling out once stored therein. In addition, it is an object of the invention to provide such a container which can be permanently sealed for final disposal.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved container for storing potentially injurious implements, which is compact for convenient mounting to a service cart or other device for moving medical treatment supplies.
The foregoing specific objects and advantages of the invention are illustrative of those which can be achieved by the present invention and are not intended to be exhaustive of the possible advantages which can be realized. Thus, these and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description herein or can be learned from practicing the invention, both as embodied herein or as modified in view of any variations which may be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the present invention resides in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.